Don't Look Back
by SimpleLoss12
Summary: Axel, Demyx,and Roxas decide to go explore the abandoned mansion in Twilight Town. Sora, Kairi, and Riku are on vacation in Twilight Town and end up finding the mansion. They all get locked in and try to find a way out, but everybody is disappearing...


Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters, sadly, I just love to write about them.

"Guys guess what?"Demyx called out as he spotted Axel and Roxas sitting on the edge of the clock tower. Both boys turned around, surprised to see Demyx. He had made Roxas jump and almost drop his ice cream.

"What're you doin' here?" Axel asked, "And how did you know where we were?"

"That's beside the point, but listen, you guys know that old abandoned mansion by the woods? I heard it's haunted!" Demyx exclaimed, waving off Axel's previous question.

"Really?" Roxas asked.

"No it's not," Axel said, picking at the hole in his jeans.

"How do you know?" Demyx challenged.

Roxas was sitting quietly, finishing his sea-salt ice cream. He was watching the two older boys and waiting for Axel's reply.

Axel looked up at Demyx, "Because ghosts don't exist and if they don't exist, then it can't be haunted."

Roxas listened as his friends bantered back and forth. He had heard stories about the old mansion, but he had never heard about it being haunted. It used to belong to the richest family in Twilight Town. One day they just disappeared. Some people say they ran away, others said they all died in the house. Is that where Demyx got the idea that it was haunted? There was a story that Roxas had heard recently though, it was said that there was a treasure somewhere within the house. He had heard it among the whispers of the vendors in town.

"Well if you're not scared then go to the house and prove that there aren't any ghosts in it!" Demyx's yell brought Roxas out of his thoughts.

"Fine, but you're coming too. I'm not scared of that old house."

"Wait, why do I have to come?" Demyx asked.

"How am I supposed to prove to you that there aren't any ghosts if you aren't there?"

"Oh, I didn't think about that…"

"We can all go together! It'll be like an adventure" Roxas said, feeling excited. "And while we're there, we can look for the treasure!"

"What treasure?" Axel and Demyx both turned to look at the smaller blond.

"Well I've been hearing some of the vendors downtown talking about a hidden treasure in the house. They say it's a fortune! And it's the family's fortune so you know it's a lot. The only thing is that old house is so huge. The treasure could be anywhere!"

Axel grinned, "Well then let's go, our treasure awaits!" He grabbed Roxas and began dragging both boys behind him. Roxas barely had time to grab his backpack and skateboard.

"Wait, we're going now?" Demyx asked.

"Yes now," Axel replied.

"Shouldn't we tell our parents" Roxas asked.

"It's the weekend, we'll just say we're spending the night at each others' houses, they won't care."

"We're spending the night?" Demyx exclaimed frantically.

"Don't be a wuss, it's one night and if we're lucky we'll probably find the treasure too," Axel said. Demyx looked doubtful.

"Well before we go in, shouldn't we get like, supplies and stuff," Roxas pointed out.

"Like what?" Axel asked.

"You know: flashlights, batteries, food, water, clothes. Stuff like that."

Axel thought about it for a minute. He realized that Roxas was right. They would need that stuff if they were staying the night in the house. "Okay, so we'll go get the stuff then meet back at the mansion at six. That gives us each about forty-five minutes to get whatever we need. Alright, let's go." Axel dismissed the group and each went his own way. Roxas set down his skateboard and rode off. Demyx grabbed his bike at the base of the building and Axel watched as both boys went off in different directions. He thought about what he had to get. He turned around and began walking away.

Axel was waiting at the gates of the old house. He pulled out his phone to check the time, 5:55. He heard someone coming and looked up to see Roxas walking towards him. Demyx came up behind Roxas a minute later and they all grouped up. Roxas had changed clothes and brought along a jacket. He had extra clothes, the food he was supposed to bring, and some rope packed in his backpack. Axel asked about the rope to which Roxas said that it was in case they needed it. Demyx brought extra clothes, three flashlights, and spare batteries. Axel looked closer in Demyx's backpack, "Hey what's that?" He reached in and Demyx tried to pull away, telling him to stop.

Axel pulled out a small blue bunny. It looked old and like it had been with Demyx for a while. "Demyx what is this?" Axel laughed.

"Give her back!" Demyx cried out, trying to grab the bunny back from Axel.

"You've gotta be kidding me, her?" he kept the bunny out of Demyx's reach, teasing him about it.

Demyx jumped on Axel and they both fell to the ground. Axel kept the bunny out of the blond's reach. "Give her back now Axel! This isn't funny!"

"Axel," Roxas chided.

"I'm just messing with you Dem! Calm down." Still laughing, Axel gave Demyx back the toy and then turned around.

"Wait Axel," Roxas said, picking up the bag that Axel brought, "You didn't bring any clothes or anything?"

"Nope, just the water and my lighter; I didn't get a chance to go home."

"Oh, okay." Roxas divided up the water bottles between his and Demyx's backpack. He put his backpack on and Demyx put the bunny back in his before he zipped it up. Axel kept the lighter in his pocket.

They all looked at each other then at the mansion. "Ready guys?" Axel asked. Roxas nodded, although he didn't look very sure. Demyx just stared in horror at the giant old façade. Axel smirked, "Let's go then."

"Guys, look at this place, it's so cool!" Sora called out to his friends. They were walking around the street vendors, looking at all the cool little trinkets and snacks and sweets that Twilight Town had to offer. Kairi was perusing the stands while Sora was filling a bag with all sorts of candies. Riku was following them both, staying quiet and just looking around.

"Hey look at this. It looks yummy!" Kairi said, waving Riku and Sora over. A small shop on the corner had a big poster in the window advertising something.

"Sea-Salt ice cream? What is that?" Sora asked.

"It doesn't sound very good," Riku mumbled.

"We should try it!" Kairi smiled and walked inside to purchase three ice creams.

She walked back out and handed each boy their treat. They all tried them and looked at each other.

"It's salty-" said Riku.

"-Yet sweet." Kairi finished.

"This is delicious!" Sora exclaimed.

The trio began to cross the street. They were heading back to meet their parents at the hotel they were staying at while on vacation.

"Is it just me, or does it seem stupid that we're going to the beach tomorrow?" Riku asked.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"We live on an Island. The beach it pretty much our front yard. We're on vacation; don't you think we could find something better to do then go to the beach? We can go any time we want at home."

"He's got a point," Kairi said. She looked behind them and quickly turned to Sora, "Look out!"

Sora looked up just in time as some kid was about to run into him with his bike. He jumped out of the way just in time.

"No!" Sora cried.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Kairi asked, sounding worried.

"I dropped my ice cream, and all my candies spilled out and fell on the street!" Sora said sadly, looking at his lost goodies on the ground.

"Wow," Riku said, rolling his eyes. Sora looked up to see if he could find that kid. He saw the kid's blue jacket as he raced down the street. He almost hit a few other people and earned a few names as people yelled at him.

"There he is!" Sora called out as he began to run after him. Kairi and Riku called after him and eventually began chasing him after Sora.

Sora kept the blond in sight as he ran down the street after him. He was getting further and further ahead though as he peddled quickly on his bike. Sora heard his friends calling his name, but he didn't stop or slow down for them to catch up, he just continued to follow the kid through the streets.

He saw the boy disappear through a hole in the wall around the city. Right before he lost sight of the boy, Sora was stopped by some Vendors who were moving their carts. It stopped him long enough for his friends to catch up to him.

"Sora, where are you going?" Kairi said as she gasped for breath.

"That kid! He went through there, we gotta go catch him!" Sora proclaimed.

"Why are we even chasing him?" Riku asked.

"Because I'm gonna make him buy me another ice cream and more candy!" Sora said as if it was completely obvious.

"You're joking right?" Riku asked, hoping his friend really was. The determination in his friend's eyes told him otherwise. Riku gave a defeated sigh and looked back at the ground, shaking his head.

Once the venders had moved, Sora set off through the hole in the wall that the boy with the bike had gone through. Kairi and Riku were right behind him as they entered the woods. Tall, dark trees loomed over the trio and thick underbrush scattered the ground.

Sora took a few cautious steps forward, Kairi and Riku warily following behind him.

"Um, where are we?" Kairi whispered.

"I don't know, maybe we should just go back," Sora said shakily.

"Which way is back?" Riku asked. They all turned around, hoping to see the wall and the escape back to town, but there was only darkness, trees, and underbrush. They looked to their right and left but everything looked the same. They didn't know where they were of how to get back.

"Oh, Sora, you got us lost! We get in enough trouble on the Island; I was hoping that maybe we could stay out of trouble for our vacation…" Kairi cried softly.

"We aren't lost, we're just exploring," Sora said, trying to sound upbeat.

"How do we get in?" Roxas asked as he held onto the padlocked front gates.

"We gotta jump the fence," Axel said. He looked at the gates, they were tall but they could get across.

"How?" Roxas looked doubtful.

"It's easy." Axel jumped up, grabbing the top, swung his leg up and hen jump down the other side.

"Of course it's easy for you," Demyx mutter under his breath.

Axel heard him and whipped his head around, "Did you say something?" He glared at Demyx, daring him to say it again.

"Nope, not a thing," Demyx said as he jumped up and over the fence. He didn't look at Axel but he could feel the coldness from his glare.

Roxas was still looking at the fence with doubt. He was shorter than both Axel and Demyx he wasn't sure he could make it over the fence.

"Hey Roxas! Hurry up, c'mon," Axel called to him.

Roxas looked around quickly when he spotted a tree. As he made his way over to it he heard Axel ask where he was going. He climbed the tree quickly and found a branch that hung over the fence. He swiftly moved along the branch before he dropped to the ground and ran over to Axel.

"Impressive." Axel nodded.

"Thanks." Roxas smiled.

The three boys looked up at the house, now inside the gate and a few paces from the door. They hesitated and waited to see who would step up first and lead them on.

"Let's go guys, we're wasting time." Axel stepped forward and walked toward the door. Roxas and Demyx followed closely behind him. The setting sun was turning the sky behind them a dark red. Axel walked up to the front door and opened it. It swung open slowly on squeaky hinges.

"Hmph, I half expected it to be locked. That's a little weird." He paused and thought about it. "Oh well, let's go." Axel walked through the threshold. The inside of the house was huge. Dust and cobwebs covered everything. The stairs looked like they had not been used in years and cobwebs hung from the banisters and chandelier.

The boys continued forward to stand in the middle of the foyer. What little light that was outside barely filtered through the thick coat of grime that covered the windows. Tall candelabras stood at the base of the stairs. The air smelt stale and moldy and hung stagnantly in the house. Having the door open let in a breeze that brought fresh air into the room and caused the dirt and dust to swirl.

Once the boys were far enough inside, the door slammed behind them, causing them all to jump and causing Demyx to scream. He ran to the door, pulling on the handle, "I changed my mind; I don't wanna stay here anymore! Let me out!"

"The door won't open?" Roxas asked. He looked at the opposite end of the house where two large glass sliding doors stood. He ran over to them and tried opening them, but they wouldn't budge.

"Just unlock it," Axel said to Demyx, walking over to the front door.

"I can't, the lock won't move!" Demyx exclaimed. "Now we're stuck in this house forever!"

"Don't start crying yet, we aren't stuck in here."

"What about the windows, will they open?" Roxas said as he walked back over to his friends. Demyx was shaking and he had a scared frantic look in his eyes. Both Axel and Roxas tried opening a window, but they all seemed to be lock shut too. Axel stepped back from the window and looked around. He saw a tall candelabrum that lay fallen on the ground. He held it in his hands then suddenly swung it at the window as hard as he could.

With a loud clang it bounced harmlessly off the window, pulling out of Axel's hands.

"What the-?" he said, looking at the window. "That should have shattered."

All the boys looked around, trying to see if they could find another way out. Demyx fell to the ground and started hugging his backpack; he looked like he was about to start crying.

Roxas was just staring at the locked door, his eyes wide in disbelief. Axel looked at his friends, then at the windows and doors. There was definitely something wrong with this house.

"Hey, don't wimp put on me already Demyx. Remember, I still have to prove to you that there aren't any ghosts."

"Are you kidding me? The door slammed behind us on its own, the doors and windows won't open, and we're stuck in here forever! How can you still say that there aren't any ghosts? It's obviously haunted!" Demyx wailed.

"Oh forget it," Axel laughed. "I'm gonna go look around." Axel walked off going into one of the side rooms.

Roxas was still frozen, but as he heard Axel's footsteps receding he snapped back to reality. He walked over to Demyx and held out his hand. Demyx looked up at him, his eyes watery, and took his hand. "I think we should stay next to Axel, especially since it's getting darker," Roxas said as they walked into the same room as Axel.

They passed out the flashlights and continued to further explore the house. They found nothing but old furniture and broken lamps in the first room. Axel decided to light some candles in the main foyer to get some light in the house. They continued to search the house, walking down corridors, exploring rooms, and climbing the stairs.

"Axel, I don't think we're going to find another way out…" Roxas looked at the ground in despair as he said the words.

"We'll figure something out, okay?" Axel said giving Roxas a reassuring smile.

"Hey guys, look at this," Demyx said as he led the boys into the library.

"Hey, look over there, is that a house?" Kairi said. The trio ran in the direction of the house, hoping it could lead them back to the main square. They found their way out of the woods and stood at the front main gates of the old mansion. Sora grabbed onto the fence and tried opening them.

"It's locked, we can't get in," Riku said, holding up the padlock for Sora to see.

Sora looked up at the fence, "Riku, give me a leg up." Sora climbed up and over the fence with Riku's help.

"Hey guys? Isn't this trespassing?" Kairi asked.

"Don't worry 'bout that, there's no sign telling us that we can't," Sora insisted. Kairi still didn't look assured but Riku helped her over the fence. Once Kairi and Sora were on the other side, Riku jumped over himself to join them.

Kairi studied the windows, "I don't think there's anybody inside. It looks abandoned."

"Maybe they just can't take care of the house very well. Come on, let's go check it out." Sora walked up to the front of the house and tried opening the door. It opened easily, but it opened with a loud squeak.

"See? The doors unlocked and there are lights on inside, let's go." Sora said.

Kairi looked at him in surprise, "Shouldn't you knock first? You can't just walk into somebody's house without knocking!"

"I'm sure they won't mind," Sora brushed it off. "Hello? Anybody home?"

"Did you hear that?" Roxas said. They were all quiet when they heard the faint sound of the door opening and someone talking.

Demyx ran out of the room and down the hall, trying to get to the door. "Wait!" he called out. Roxas and Axel looked at each other then ran after Demyx.

"Wait!" a voice echoed through the house. The trio looked up just in time to see someone running down the stairs. He jumped over the last few stairs and ran towards them.

"Hey it's you! You're the one with the bike!" Sora pointed at him.

"Don't let the door shut!" Demyx called out. They all turned around to see the door slam shut by itself.

"No!" Demyx slammed into the door and began tugging at the door handle.

"Demyx!" Roxas called out at the top of the stairs. He saw the other three kids standing there, wondering what was going on. Roxas and Axel walked down to stand next to Demyx who was still trying to open the door. Axel tried to grab Demyx and pull him away because he wouldn't let go of the handle.

"I was so close! Why won't it let me out?" Demyx yelled.

"What's going on here?" Kairi asked.

"You were supposed to keep the door open because now we're locked in here!" Demyx cried.

"What do you mean?" Riku asked.

Axel finally got Demyx to let go of the handle and he took him away from the door, "Just ignore him. The door is locked from the outside and he's freaking out because he's scared. We were trying to find another way out but we didn't have any luck."

"So no one lives here?" Sora asked. He looked at Demyx and then started to confront him about running into him earlier, but he was cut off.

"Nobody has for quite a while, as you can see," Roxas said, gesturing to the whole house.

Sora turned to Kairi. "And you were worried about me knocking," he laughed.

"If you want, you can follow us, or you can stay here, your choice," Axel added as he walked off. Roxas began to follow him as well as the trio.

"Don't leave me by myself!" Demyx chased the group as they walked up the stairs.

They headed back to the library and continued searching there. After a while Roxas walked over to Axel. "Axel this house is so big; we haven't checked most of the bottom floor, and some of the top. We haven't even thought about the basement. We'll never find it, it could be anywhere."

"Find what?" Both boys turned around to see Riku standing behind them. They looked at each other and then back at him.

Roxas looked up at Axel, "If we tell them, we have a better chance of finding it."

"But then we'll have to share," Axel grumbled.

Roxas shook his head, "Don't be so greedy, there'll be more than enough for all of us."

"Share what?" Riku asked again.

"There's a rumored treasure, so to speak, hidden somewhere in this house," Roxas explained.

"Treasure?" Sora's eyes grew bright. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, but we don't know where," Demyx said sullenly.

"What if we split up? We could find it faster." Kairi said.

Axel nodded, "Good idea."

"I call Kairi!" Sora called out, rushing to stand by Kairi's side.

"I'll take Roxas," Axel said.

Demyx looked at Riku. The quiet boy seemed intimidating to Demyx. He looked up at Riku and walked over to him, "Guess I'm with you then." Demyx tried to smile but it ended up turning into a nervous laugh.

Roxas gave Sora and Kairi his flashlight and each group went off in their own directions.

Sora and Kairi were in what was probably the dining hall. The table still stood with a dusty tablecloth and decorations. Everything looked in place and like it hadn't moved or been touched by anybody in a long time. The only thing wrong was the chairs. Some chairs were thrown from their places. Some lay in scattered pieces on the floor.

"Isn't that strange?" Kairi asked.

"What?"

"That everything is in place, except the chairs. I mean look at the plates and silverware. They're perfect, but then the chairs are a mess. Isn't that a bit odd?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah, that is kinda weird," Sora nodded.

A loud clatter caught their attention. It was muffled by the door which led to the kitchen. More sounds began to come from behind the door. When the noises stopped a thick silence hung in the air. Sora began walking towards the door, going to investigate.

"Wait!" Kairi stopped him and held onto his arm. "Maybe we should just leave."

"But I wanna see what that was." He pulled his arm from her grasp and continued walking forward. He warily touched the door and slowly opened it. Kairi began to follow but he told her to stay where she was. She listened even though she was scared to be left alone in the strange room engulfed in darkness. The faint glow from Sora's flashlight was the only light that entered the room and even then it wasn't much.

She could hear him moving around and calling out to see if there was someone there. Kairi noticed that the light in the dining hall grew brighter. She turned around to see the candles on the table lighting themselves one by one. "Sora," she called out softly. She heard a soft sound echoing off the walls. As it grew louder she could hear it coming from the kitchen where Sora was. As it got loud and became more distinct, she thought it sounded like an animal growling. "Sora!" she called out a little louder and with more urgency.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled. Another crash and an animal's howl cut Sora's yell short. The door burst open suddenly and a strong gust of wind pushed through the door, pushing Kairi down and ripping a scream from her throat. The candles blew out and the room was thrust into darkness again. Plates began to shatter. The clanging of silverware falling to the floor and the breaking of glass cups and plates filled the air, adding to the howling of the wind. The table began to shake and the room was completely black. The wind was still blowing and the gust felt hot and sticky. Kairi squeezed her eyes shut and curled up in a ball, clamping her hands over her ears. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

When the room finally grew silent again, Kairi fumbled around blindly.

"Sora! Sora!" She cried out desperately. She stumbled towards the wall, groping around in the dark for something stable. She found the wall and tried to stand up. Her legs were shaky and she could barely stand but she walked on, trying to find a door. She continued calling out Sora's name, becoming distressed even more. Her whole body was shaking now and she was gasping for breath. The fear was still prickling at her neck and slithering down her spine.

She heard the faintest sound of someone calling her name. She called out to Sora even more loudly, hoping to find him. The main doors to the dining hall burst open and a bright shining light blinded her. She threw her hands up to protect her eyes and face. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor.

"Kairi!" Riku called out to her. He ran over and knelt beside her, then helped her up. "What happened? Are you alright?"

She began crying as she told Riku what had happened. She then turned to show them the damage that had happened, only to stop dead in her tracks. The table had the same exact dusty tablecloth with the plates, cups, and silverware set neatly and looking as if they had not moved in years. She stood there, dumbfounded. The candles looked like they hadn't even been lit.

"No!" It was all just trashed. Everything was breaking and crashing. The wind was blowing everything around. It was so loud! Didn't you hear it?" she said frantically.

"Kairi, there hasn't been a sound, it's been dead quiet. The only sound we heard was you screaming and calling out Sora's name…" Riku grew quiet and looked around, moving his flashlight back and forth. "Where is he?"

Kairi's eyes grew wide as she turned to run into the kitchen, crying out Sora's name. The boys followed her. She looked around frantically to see if she could spot Sora, but the kitchen was the same as the table. Nothing was out of place. The only thing that was different was Sora's flashlight. It was turned off and placed with the light down on the counter.

Kairi reached out and lightly held the flashlight. Tears slid down her cheeks and she turned to bury her face in Riku's chest. He held her there and let her cry. Axel, Demyx, and Roxas just stood off to the side, staying quiet.

"I really don't want to interrupt you guys, but I think it would be best to get out of this room." Axel watched them and then turned to leave. Demyx followed Axel but Roxas stayed behind and looked at Riku and Kairi sadly. He gave her a hug and when they pulled apart he led them along, but he gave them space. They both stayed silent and stayed farther back.

Their silence made it take a while for Axel, Demyx, and Roxas to notice they were gone.

"Man, I'm kinda hungry, what about you guys?" Demy said turning around. "Hey, where are the other two?"

Axel and Roxas both turned around to see an empty hallway behind them. Kairi's scream caught them all off guard. They ran in the direction of the scream. They ran through the open library doors to see Kairi being dragged away. All the flashlights abruptly went dark and the only source of light was a few candles lit around the room.

Ghostly white tendrils of hazy light were wrapped around Kairi and they were dragging her into the fireplace. The hearth was empty and pitch black, save the tendrils emerging and holding Kairi. Riku was nowhere in sight.

Roxas tried to move toward Kairi but the tendrils coiled more tightly around her and spread to make the room hazier. Even though Roxas couldn't see her, he could hear her coughing and choking somewhere in the room.

The haze dissipated and Roxas looked around the room. Axel and Demyx walked up to stand by his side. The room looked like it was back to normal. The candles had died down but a fire burned in the fireplace. The flashlights turned back on and the only sound was the cracking and popping coming from the fire.

"What's wrong with this house?" Demyx whispered, staring around the room.

"Demyx, I hate to say it, but I think you were right…" Axel said.

"So I was right? I told ya so, but still… Don't you think the house could have told us it was haunted by like sending a ghost to scare us instead of-" his voice caught in his throat.

"Killing us…" Roxas said quietly.

"Maybe we should just stop looking around. That treasure isn't worth it," Demyx said. Before they walked away, Roxas noticed a plush arm chair with a high back. Next to it was a small table holding a single flashlight. Roxas walked over and grabbed it, walking slowly out of the room.

Riku opened his eyes. He was standing in a giant room. Pillars reached up high to support the ceiling. Huge dark windows lined the walls. The air tasted old and stale. The room was shrouded in darkness, making it hard to see anything.

A violin began playing somewhere in the room. The sound was slow and haunting, the notes hung heavily in the air; a scratchy melody pulling them together. The temperature in the room dropped drastically and Riku was soon able to see his breath crystallize in front of him. The violin finished its solo and then more stringed instruments joined in. Riku felt like the notes were burrowing under his skin, making it crawl.

Two shadowy figures moved in the distance. Riku could barely see them until they began to almost glow. It wasn't a normal glow though; the figures had an eerie light to them. He tried to step back but his body wouldn't move. The figures got close and their shape looked humanoid. He noticed that it was a man and a woman holding each other close and dancing. The dark music continued, matching the mood of the room, and Riku felt like his heart would burst out of his chest.

The people were dressed up, almost as if they were at a party or a ball. Masks sat upon their faces, obscuring their eyes from view. They danced and twirled around Riku in a wide circle, getting closer with each turn. The woman wore an elegant long dress. Her hair hung in gentle curls down her back and bounced while she moved. Jewels adorned her neck and wrists. Long white gloves covered her hands and went up to her elbows. The man wore a dark suit and had a flower in his chest pocket. He had on short white gloves and his coat tails swirled with him.

The instruments finished playing their final few notes and the dancers stopped. They pulled apart and looked at each other. Suddenly their necks turned and they stared at Riku. Behind their masks their eyes glowed red and their lips parted to show rows of sharp white teeth. Riku's eyes grew wide in horror as he tried to move again. They both sprung on him quickly and his throat was ripped out before it could produce a scream.

"Hey, what about this room?" Demyx looked around. It was a bedroom and it was on the bottom floor, away from the library. Axel and Roxas looked in and decided it would be fine.

Axel was going to start a fire in the fireplace and Roxas and Demyx checked to see if the bedding was alright to use. It seemed fine but they just had to shake it out a few times to get the dust off. They divided it so they each got a pillow and a blanket.

Axel had looked around for wood to use in the fire. All he found was a desk and a small bedside table. He decided to use the smaller table first. He picked it up and threw it against the wall, breaking it apart. He gathered the broken wood and threw it in the fire, watching the flames grow higher as it gobbled up the wood. He was staring into the flames, watching them dance, when Roxas broke him away.

"Do you think the water still works in here?" Axel looked up at him, "Don't know, but there's a bathroom right there, go and see." Roxas nodded and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"He does know we have water bottles, right?" Demyx said.

"Yeah he does. Hey, throw me one, and what type of food did Roxas bring, I'm kinda hungry now too."

Demyx tossed Axel a bottle of water and dug through Roxas' backpack to find the food that he had packed.

Roxas closed the bathroom door behind him. He took a deep breath as he set his flashlight upright on the shelf beside the sink so that it illuminated the whole room. He turned the faucet on to see if it still worked. The pipes groaned and sputtered and eventually water came out. He let it run for a while because it was tinted brown with rust. When it turned somewhat clearer he washed his hands and then splashed his face.

The more the water ran, the colder it became. He splashed the cold water on his face wondering if this was all just a dream or if this was really happening. He looked at himself in the dusty mirror. He went to bring more water up to his face but stopped when he looked at his hands.

A dark red liquid was seeping through his fingers, feeling ice cold. The lights flickered on above the mirror and one bulb stayed lit as the others sputtered over and over. He pulled his hands apart so that the liquid spilled back into the sink, which is when he saw it spewing from the faucet. He freaked out and tried to turn the water off but the handle ended up breaking and the liquid continued to flow.

The smell began to grow stronger. Roxas gagged and reflexively brought his hand up until he remembered it was stained. The metallic tang hung heavily in the air. Roxas gagged again and he heard it. The pipes began to moan louder and began to bang and clink.

Blood began to pour out of the bathtub faucet too. It spewed everywhere and Roxas heard the pipes begin to burst under the sink. The tub was already overflowing even though it just started coming out. Roxas looked down as the thick red blood gurgled around his ankles. The pipe burst under the sink, spraying blood everywhere. Unlike before, the blood had turned warm as it stuck to Roxas' skin.

Roxas sloshed through the dark red liquid, covering his face from the spraying blood. His hands grew sticky as he banged on the door, trying to call out to Axel or Demyx. He desperately tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

The blood was rising at an impossible rate; it was almost up to his knees.

He turned and looked around quickly to see if he could find another way out or even a way to stop the blood.

Something fell on his nose and he reached up to touch it. At the same time he looked up. Ribbons of blood were winding their way across the ceiling. The blood began to rain down, adding to the flood at his feet. Roxas was having trouble breathing.

Small holes began forming all over the walls. At first blood trickled out of them, but then the holes grew bigger and more blood began to spill out. Roxas saw this and started screaming for Axel and Demyx even more. The door still wouldn't open and it didn't seem like his friends were coming.

Roxas' eyes burned and he could feel a tear winding down his cheek. Why was this happening? And why did he have to be by himself? He hadn't even gotten to say a proper goodbye to his family and friends. This is not how he wanted to die. He wanted to be old when he died; he still had his whole life to live.

The blood was up to his waist now. It was coming from everywhere: the pipes, walls, and ceiling. The warm sticky blood surrounded him, making it hard from him to breathe. He was gasping for breath and trying to stay afloat when it made its way to his neck. The ceiling wasn't very high and Roxas didn't know if he was thankful for that or not.

Before it went over his head he took a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. He went under and the feeling of the warm sticky blood engulfing his body made him choke. He breathed in the blood and began choking more. His lungs were burning and he couldn't do anything. He tried to swim up towards the surface again but he hit the roof and he knew there was no way out. His mind grew frantic as he searched desperately for any source of air, but he knew he wouldn't find any. He eventually stopped choking as his body stopped convulsing. His eyes closed, blocking out the burning blood. His body grew still as he sank. The room didn't seem to be around him anymore. He sank in the bottomless abyss of blood, losing consciousness slowly as his brain and heart began to stop.

"He's been in there for quite a while, dontcha think?" Demyx said, finishing off his sandwich.

"Yeah, I'll go check on him." Axel got up and walked over to the bathroom door. He knocked, "Roxas." No response. "Hey, Roxas." Still no reply. Axel tried the door, unlocked.

He walked inside but the room was empty. Roxas's flashlight was on and Axel picked it up. He heard water dripping and looked at the sink. Dark red drops fell into the stained sink and swirled into the drain. Axel blinked and looked again but all he saw was normal water.

"Roxas!" Axel called out, fearing the worst. Demyx ran in and saw Axel holding the flashlight and staring at the sink.

"He's gone? But there's no way! We were outside the door the whole time and there is no other way out. Where did he go?" Demyx's lip began to quiver, "Roxas…"

Axel was frozen in shock. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be true. Not Roxas, not his best friend. He stared at the sink again, had that been blood?

"Demyx, we have to get out of this house, now!" Axel said urgently. He pushed Demyx out of the room and dragged him along. They left the room with the backpacks and blankets untouched. All they had were the flashlights. They ran towards the front door and desperately tried to open it again. It didn't move and Axel punched the door in frustration and then slid to the floor, feeling crushed. Roxas was gone and it was all his fault. He looked at Demyx and fear grew inside him. He couldn't lose his other friend. They hadn't done anything; no person, or ghost could be that cruel, could they?

A hushed laugh floated down the stairs. Axel and Demyx looked up. The sound was coming from an upstairs room. It grew louder and it sounded like the laughter of an old man. Another shrill laugh started to join in. It was coming from the room to their left and it sounded like a little girl. More laughs mixed together: a small boy, a bubbly young woman, and a man. They all sent chills down Axel and Demyx's spine. They seemed to grow louder and sharper. Soon it sounded like nails scraping across a chalkboard. The sound only intensified and it felt as if their ears were bleeding.

"Axel! We have to get out of here!" Demyx yelled. Axel barely heard him but he was able to read his lips in the dim light. Both boys stood up, their hands still covering their ears and clenching their teeth against the pain. The house itself felt like it was shaking. The haunting laughs seemed to die down and Axel and Demyx removed their hands from their ears. They both began to walk forward, but the house began to shake even more. Everything was rattling and it was hard to stand up.

"Axel! Watch out!" Demyx shouted. He jumped forward to shove Axel out of the way, just as the chandelier plummeted to the floor. Axel fell to the ground, but the crash stopped his heart. He turned around, screaming Demyx's name. He stared at the chandelier and Demyx's crushed body beneath it. A pool of blood began to encompass his body, streaming towards Axel.

The house stopped shaking and his heart fell. He stared at Demyx's broken body. His own body went into shock and he didn't know what to do.

After being still for a few moments, the knees of his pants became soaked in blood. He got up, still staring at Demyx, and for the first time since Axel was a small child, he began to cry. It started with a single tear running down his cheek, but then sobs began to rock his chest. He stumbled away, turning from Demyx. His vision was blurred by the tears as he staggered towards the stairs. He fell down on the stairs, pulling his knees close to his chest. He didn't know how long he sat there crying, but he knew it felt like forever.

He remembered the first time he met Roxas and Demyx. It had been in the middle of his sophomore year, and this was the fourth school he had attended, the other tree had kicked him out. He figured this school would be like all the others. It was lunch time and he was sitting by himself in the courtyard, trying to get away from the other students.

He heard some commotion coming from his left. He turned his head and looked around the wall he was sitting behind.

Two boys were being confronted by three upperclassmen. He could hear some of the conversation and it sounded like the main upperclassmen had the two smaller boys doing his homework. Axel smirked. In the other schools he had attended he had done the same thing to other nerds. He watched as the two smaller boys were beat up by the jocks. He wanted to laugh as he remembered all the kids he had done the same to. Once the jocks were done with them, they took the boys backpacks and dumped out all the contents, scattering them all around.

The boys just sat by and watched. Then after they left, the boys began to laugh. They got up and began collecting their various items from the ground. Axel stared at them, confused. They had just gotten beat up, why were they laughing?

For some reason, Axel felt compelled to go talk to them. He got up and walked over to them. As he got closer, the boys quieted and just stared at him.

"Um, can we help you?" The smaller blond boy asked.

Axel just stared at them both, "I just have one question: Why were you laughing?"

The other boy who had dirty blond hair just looked at him, "Why? Are we not allowed to laugh anymore?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Axel said shaking his head, "I mean, I just saw you two get beat up, pretty badly by the looks of it too, but you guys are laughing. I don't get it."

The boys just looked up at Axel then at each other. The smaller boy just shrugged his shoulders, "I honestly don't know." Then both of the boys started laughing again. Axel stared at them like they were crazy, but he ended up helping them pick their stuff up off the ground.

The more he talked to them he realized how friendly the boys seemed to be. The smaller one was Roxas and the other was Demyx. He realized that he also had some classes with them. And despite what Axel originally thought, they became good friends. After a while, Axel even started to change. He stopped getting in as much trouble; he did better in school and actually finished the year at the same school.

Roxas and Demyx were the best things that ever happened in Axel's life. They were there for him when no one else was. Axel and his parents didn't have a very good relationship so he tried to stay away from them as much as possible; most of the time he was with Roxas or Demyx. The trio ended up being pretty much inseparable and Axel loved his friends. They were his best friends, true friends, and probably the only actual friends he had ever had. Losing them hurt him more than anything else in the world.

"Why?" Axel whispered.

"Why?" he yelled into the emptiness. "What did they do?" He began yelling at no one in particular, just anyone that would listen. "What did they do to deserve to die? That should have been me, not them! I'm probably the worst person in the world! Roxas and Demyx didn't deserve this…"

He knelt down and hung his head, "This is all my fault… It's all my fault that they're gone. Please, please let this only be a dream. I couldn't live with myself if-" he stopped. Everybody else was gone, they had all died. Sora, Kairi, and Riku; strangers that Axel didn't know but still felt sorry for. Then there was Demyx and Roxas. Axel's heart grew heavier.

"Is that it? Everyone else is dead, but what about me? It's all my fault…" Axel stopped and slowly lifted his head. "But that's why I'm still here, isn't it? You won't kill me because you know that would be granting mercy on me. You know it would be worse for me to live with my guilt, to know that I'm living while my friends are dead. Is this my punishment? Why couldn't you've killed me and left them out of it? All of them. They didn't deserve this…" Axel lost his voice. He finally understood. The house must have realized that he understood because the front door opened swiftly and silently. Axel looked towards the door. The chandelier and Demyx's body was gone, even the blood that had stained the floor was gone. It was just like all the others; there was no trace of them at all, except one thing. Demyx's flashlight sat by itself on the floor, face down.

Axel slowly walked over to it. He gingerly picked it up and held it tightly in his hand. He held Roxas's flashlight in his other hand and he stared out the door. He switched both flashlights to one hand and reached into his pocket and pulled out the lighter. He flipped it open and stared at the small flame. He tossed it onto the drapes that framed the tall front windows. It caught fire and Axel watched as the flames began to slowly eat up the fabric and climb up the walls. Axel walked out the front door and through the now open front gate. He didn't look back once as smoke began to billow from the windows or as the flames danced in the sky. The whole house was becoming engulfed in the bright orange blaze. Soon Twilight Town would realize it and all gather, wondering what had happened.

Axel clicked both flashlights on. With a heavy heart he walked through the dark woods. He didn't know where he was going, all he knew was that he had to get as far away as possible and Roxas and Demyx's lights would lead him there.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. :) This was just something I wrote for fun. Thanks to my friends who helped me with this, I really appreciate it guys.


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